Apparatus for smokeless pushing and transportation of hot coke

ABSTRACT

Apparatus for the smokeless pushing and transportation of hot coke. A bucket whose interior volume is large enough to receive the entire contents of a coke oven is positioned in alignment with a coke oven whcih is to be emptied while a cover on top of the bucket, a hood extending from the cover to a coke guide, and the coke guide itself all define a space closed off from the outer atmosphere and through which the coke travels while being pushed from the coke oven into the bucket. After the bucket is filled with this coke, it is transported on a car which carries the bucket to a bunker where the bucket is raised to the top of the bunker into which the ocntents of the bucket are emptied so that dry-quenching of the coke can take place in the bunker. The space between the bucket and the bunker is also closed off from the outer atmosphere during charging of the bunker with coke from the bucket. Then the empty bucket is returned to the next oven which is ready for pushing. During pushing of coke from an oven into the bucket, gases, vapors, and particulate matter which might otherwise escape to the outer atmosphere are withdrawn from the space through which the coke travels from the oven to the buckets, and this withdrawn matter is cleaned in a suitable scrubber so that only clean gases are released to the outer atmosphere.

April 2 1974 R. KEMMETMUELLER 3,801,472

APPARATUS FOR SMOKELESS PUSHTNG AND TRANSIORTA'X'ION Ol HOT COKE 7Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Oct. l2, 1972 Apli 2, i974 R. KEMMETMUELLER3,8@EAT2 APPARATUS FOR SMOKELESS PUSHING AND TRANSPORTATION OF HOT COKE7 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Oct. l2, 1972 R. KEMMETMUELLER April 2, 1974APPARATUS FOR SMOKELESS PUSHING AND TRANSPORTATION OF HOT COKE 7Sheets-Sheet 55 Filed Oct. l2, 1972 AND TRANSPORTATION OP HOT COKE Aprilz, 1974 R. KEMMETMUELLER APPARATUS FOR SMOKELESS PUSHING 7 Sheets-Sheet4 Filed Oct. l2, 1972 April 2l 1974 R. KEMMETMUELLER 3,801,472

APPARATUS FOR SHOKELESS PUSHING AND TRANSPORTATION OF HOT COKE '7Sheets-Sheet 5 `Filed Oct. 12, 1972 Aprii 2, 1974 R. KEMMETMUELLERAPPARATUS FOR SHOKELESS PUSHING AND TRANSPORTATION OF HOT COKE FiledOct. l2, 1972 7 Sheets-Sheet 6 April 2, 1974 R. KEMMETMUELLER 3,801,472

S PUSHING AND TRANSPORTATION OF HO'A1 COKE APPARATUS FOR SMOKELES FiledOct. l2, 1972 7 Sheets-Sheat '7 afl,

fu 22 oo 542 2 6 0 2 United States Patent @Hice 3,801,472 Patented Apr.2, 1974 3,801,472 APPARATUS FOR SMOKELESS PUSHING AND TRANSPORTATION OFHOT COKE Roland Kemmetmueller, Carlton House, 550 Grant, Pittsburgh, Pa.15230 Filed Oct. 12, 1972, Ser. No. 296,963 Int. Cl. Cb 33/00 U.S. Cl.202-263 10 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE Apparatus for the smokelesspushing and transportation of hot coke. A bucket whose interior volumeis large enough to receive the entire contents of a coke oven ispositioned in alignment with a coke oven which is to be emptied while acover on top of the bucket, a hood extending from the cover to a cokeguide, and the coke guide itself all define a space closed of from theouter atmosphere and through which the coke travels while being pushedfrom the coke oven into the bucket. After the bucket is lled with thiscoke, it is transported on a car which carries the bucket to a bunkerwhere the bucket is raised to the top of the bunker into which thecontents of the-bucket are emptied so that dry-quenching of the coke cantake place in the bunker. The space between the bucket and the bunker isalso closed olf from the outer atmosphere during charging of the bunkerwith coke from the bucket. Then the empty bucket is returned to the nextoven which is ready for pushing. During pushing of coke from an oveninto the bucket, gases, vapors, and particulate matter which mightotherwise escape to the outer atmosphere are withdrawn from the spacethrough which the coke travels from the oven to the bucket, and thiswithdrawn matter is cleaned in a suitable scrubber so that only cleangases are released to the outer atmosphere.

The present invention relates to apparatus for treating coke when thecoke is pushed from a coke oven.

Conventionally, coke is pushed from a coke oven onto a quenching carwhich conventionally takes the form of a long inclined platform which ismoved longitudinally by a suitable locomotive during pushing of cokefrom a coke oven so that the coke will become distributed in arelatively thin layer on the inclined surface of the quenching car. Thecoke which is deposited in this way on the inclined surface of thequenching car is cooled by having water sprayed onto the coke, and theinclined supporting surface for the layer of hot coke will cause thequenching water to run down to the lower end of the quenching car andfall therefrom into a suitable gutter, for example, along which thequenching water runs to a suitable location.

These conventional operations are accompanied by serious drawbacks. Oneof the most serious drawbacks resides in the fact that the hot cokefalling from a coke oven onto the inclined surface of the quenching carreleases large amounts of undesirable pollutants to the outeratmosphere, so that the area where such operations are carried about arecovered with ash, soot, and other undesirable matter which initially issuspended in the air and which deposits on all of the surrounding area.In addition, the atmosphere where such operations are carried out isdangerous to breathe so that the operating personnel as well as anyindividuals who reside in the neighborhood of installations where theseoperations are carried out have their health seriously endangered.

A still further drawback of operations of the above type resides in thefact that a large amount of energy is wasted, going up in clouds ofsteam resulting from cooling of the hot coke simply by sprayingquenching liquid thereon.

Furthermore, this quenching liquid itself creates a problem since it iscontaminated with noxious chemicals and must be disposed of with greatcare in order to avoid contamination of sources of drinking water, forexample.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is accordingly a primary object of thepresent invention to provide an apparatus which will avoid the abovedrawbacks.

In particular, it is an object of the present invention to provide anapparatus capable of treating coke pushed from a coke oven in such a waythat there will be no pollution of the outer atmosphere.

Furthermore, it is an object of the present invention to provide anapparatus capable of treating coke in such a way that quenching water isnot required, thus alleviating the entire problem of how to dispose ofsuch quenching Water.

Furthermore, it is an object of the present invention to provide anapparatus for treating coke pushed from a coke oven in such a way thatthe energy stored in the coke by reason of the elevated temperaturethereof can be recaptured and used economically.

Furthermore, it is an object of the present invention to provide anapparatus of the above type which can readily be used with existing cokeoven batteries.

Yet another object of the present invention is to provide an apparatuswhich not only will be capable of accomplishing all of the above objectsbut which at the same time can be carried out economically and eiciently1n such a way that there are great savings as compared with conventionalmethods and at the same time the coke oven batteries themselves can bemaintained without altermg the methods in which the coke ovensthemselves are operated.

According to the invention, the hot coke is pushed from a coke oven intoa bucket whose volume is great enough to receive all of the coke pushedfrom the oven. During this pushing operation the space through which thecoke travels from the oven to the bucket is closed off from the outeratmosphere while the bucket is maintained covered, so that there will beno pollution of the outer atmosphere 1n connection with pushing of cokefrom the oven to the bucket. Gases, vapors, dust and the like situatedin the space through which the coke travels from the oven to the bucketare sucked out of this space and delivered to a scrubber which cleansthe matter sucked out of the space releasing only clean gases to theouter atmosphere. The bucket which is thus filled with coke is thentransported from a coke oven to the top of a dry-quenching bunker, whilethe bucket is maintained closed off from the outer atmosphere. Then atthe top of the bunker, with the space between the bucket and the bunkercharging opening maintained closed ot from the outer atmosphere thebucket is emptied into the bunker, and finally the empty bucket isreturned to the next oven which is ready for pushing. All of the abovesteps are repeated so as to form cycles of operation during which cokeis sequentially pushed from coke ovens and delivered to dry-quenchingbunkers in a highly economical manner while at the same time preventingpollution of the atmosphere.

The apparatus of the invention for practicing the above method ofsmokeless pushing and transportation of hot coke includes a bucket meanswhich has an interior volume sufficiently great to receive the entirecontents of a coke oven. This bucket means of the invention has a topend through which the coke pushed from the coke oven enters into theinterior of the bucket means. A coke car means carries the bucket means,and a cover means covers the top end of the bucket means. A coke guidemeans is situated next to a coke oven for guiding coke which is pushedout of the latter, and a hood means extends between the coke guide meansand the cover means and communicates through the latter with theinterior of the bucket means and through the coke quide means with anoven from which the coke is to be pushed, so that the hood means, thecoke guide means, and the cover means all cooperate to close olf fromthe outer atmosphere the space through which the coke travels whenpushed from a coke oven into the bucket means. A suction meanscommunicate with this latter space for withdrawing therefrom gasses,vapors, 'and particulate matter which otherwise would be released to theouter atmosphere. In the suction means, combustibles of the withdrawngases and vapors are burned by pilot burner means to innocuous dine gas.A scrubber means communicates with the suction means for receiving fromthe latter the matter witdrawn from the closed olf space between theoven and the bucket means, and this matter withdrawn by the suctionmeans is cleaned by the scrubber means before any gases are released tothe outer atmosphere, so that these gases are clean and thus preventpollution of the outer atmosphere.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS The invention is illustrated by Way ofexample in the accompanying drawings which form part of this applicationand in which:

FIG. 1 is a schematic partly sectional elevation showing a bucket meansof the invention situated at a coke oven, FIG. 1 in addition showing thestructure of the invention which extends between the coke oven and thebucket means;

FIG. 2 is a sectional elevation of the structure of FIG. 1 taken alongline 2-2 of FIG. l in the direction of the arrows;

lFIG. 3 is a schematic plan view taken along line 3-3 of FIG. 2 in thedirection of the arrows and showing the cove of the bucket means as itappears when looking down onto the cover;

FIG. 4 is a schematic sectional elevation of another embodiment of abucket means of the invention shown in FIG. 4 as situated at a locationwhere it will receive coke pushed from an oven, FIG. 4 alsoschematically showing a different embodiment of a structure extendingbetween a cover of the bucket means and the coke oven;

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary sectional elevation taken along line 5-5 of FIG.4 in the direction of the arrows;

FIG. 6 is a schematic plan view taken along line 6-6 of FIG. 5 in thedirection of the arrows and showing the coves of the bucket means ofFIG. 5 as it appears when looking down onto the cover;

FIG. 7 is a partly sectional schematic elevation of a third embodimentof a bucket means of the invention illustrated in FIG. 7 at a locationwhere it will receive coke pushed from an oven, FIG. 7 also illustratingthe structure extending between the coke oven and the bucket andcommunicating through the cover of the latter with the interior of thebucket;

FIG. 8 is a fragmentary sectional elevation taken along line 8-8 of FIG.7 in the direction of the arrows and showing further details of thestructure of FIG. 7;

FIG. 9 is a sectional plan view taken along line 9-9 of FIG. 8 in thedirection of the arrows;

FIG. 10 is a schematic elevation of a coke oven battery as seen whenlooking toward the doors of the series of coke ovens, FIG. 10illustrating the manner in which gases containing pollutants arehandled;

FIG. 11 is a schematic plan View of part of the structure of EFIG. 10illustrating how burners are arranged to communicate with the interiorof a main so 'as to prevent explosions therein;

FIG. 12 is a schematic elevation of a further embodiment of theinvention according t0 which ya scrubber is located directly on the carwhich carries the bucket of the invention;

FIG. 13 is a schematic plan view showing how the coke is handled when itis received in a bucket and transported between coke oven batteries anddry-quenching bunkers;

FIG. 14 is an elevation View schematically illustrating further detailsof how the buckets are handled when transported between the coke ovensand the dry-quenching bunker;

FIG. 15 is a schematic partly sectional elevation showing the structureat the top of a dry-quenching bunker when utilized with one embodimentof a bucket means of the invention;

FIG. 16 shows another embodiment of structure at the top of a bunkerparticularly adapted to be used with another embodiment of a bucket;

FIG. 17 schematically illustrates how a still further embodiment of abucket of the invention is used at the top of a bunker;

FIG. 18 is a schematic illustration showing partly in section stillanother embodiment of a bucket according to the invention; and

FIG. 19 is a schematic representation of the manner in which thestructure of FIG. 18 is operated when the contents of the bucket lareemptied therefrom.

DESCRIPTION OF l.PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Referring lirst to FIG. 1, thereis shown therein in a sectional elevation and in a schematic manner abucket means 20 of the present invention. This bucket means 20, as isapparent from FIGS. 2 and 3 as well as FIG. l, is of a square crosssection while having adjacent its lower region a tapered portion 22 ofsubstantially the configuration of a truncated lpyramid. This bucketmeans 20 is large enough so that its interior volume is capable ofreceiving the entire contents of a coke oven such as the coke oven 24which is schematically represented at the left of FIG. l. The Walls ofthe bucket means 20 may take the form of an outer steel shell lined withcast iron provided with suitable expansion joints.

The bucket means 20 rests on a suitable framework 26 having aconfiguration conforming to the outer configuration of the bucket meansso that latter can be lowered by a suitable crane directly onto theframework 26 so as to rest thereon while being removable from theframework 26 when raised therefrom by a crane in the manner described ingreater detail below. For this purpose the outer surface of the bucketmeans 20 may have fixed thereto suitable projections in the form of eyesor trunnions, for example, to receive hooks carried by cables which inturn are suspended from the crane which raises and lowers the bucketmeans.

The lframework 26 is iixed to and carried by a car 28 having wheels 30which ride on the rails 32, the car 28 having at its left end, as viewedin FIG. 2, a coupling 34 by which the car is coupled to a locomotivewhich moves the car along the rails 32 so that the car together with thebucket means may be transported to the oven 24 which is to be pushed andthen from the latter to a dry-quenching bunker as set forth in greaterdetail below.

The top end of the bucket means 20 is closed by a cover means 36 havingan elongated rectangular opening 38 capable of being closed by a hingeddoor 40 which is pivotally connected to the cover means 36 and which canbe opened and closed by way of any suitable cylinder or lever assembly42, for example, carried by suitable supporting structure directly onthe cover 36 and connected in any desired manner to a source of electricpower, compressed air, hydraulic iiuid under pressure or actuated by cogmeans.

Thus, when the bucket means 20 is to be lled with coke from an oven suchas the oven 24, the cylinder or lever means 42 is operated to open thedoor 40 so that it will assume the position shown in FIG. 2, and priorto pushing of coke from the oven 24 a hood means 44 has its open bottomend placed in communication with the opening 38, in the manner shownschematically in FIGS. 1 and 2. The hood means 44 has a pair of opposedparallel vertical side walls 46 and these walls are interconnected witheach other at their top edges by an inclined wall 48 Which is curved atits right end, as viewed in FIG. 1, so that it extends down to the rightend of the opening 38. The space between the walls 46 is closed at thebottom by a well 50 which extends up to the left end of the opening 38,as viewed in FIG. 1.

This wall 50 has an extension forming the bottom wall of a coke guidemeans 52 which is carried by a car 54 capable of travelling along therails 56 which extend along the bottom of the coke oven battery. Thecoke guide means 52 directly carries the hood means 46 so that thelatter travels with the coke guide when the car 54 is moved along therails 56 to situate the coke guide in alignment with the oven 24 whichis about to be pushed. The coke guide has vertical side walls extendingupwardly from the bottom wall 50 and forming extensions of the sidewalls 46, these walls being carried by suitable structural framemembers, and the top Wall 48 has a horizontal extension 58 which extendsto the left, as viewed in FIG. 1, all the way up to the left end of thecoke guide. At this left end the coke guide is open and has dimensionscorresponding to the discharge opening of the oven 24, this dischargeopening being uncovered when the door 60 is removed in a well-knownmanner.

Thus, with the structure as described above, an empty bucket means 20 onthe car 28 will be moved into alignment with an oven 24 which is to beemptied, and then the door 40 will be opened. Then the coke guide means`52 and the hood means 44, which form a single unit in this example, aremoved into alignment with the oven 24 which is about to be emptied sothat the bottom open end of the hood means 46 will be aligned with andlocated directly over the opening 38 of the cover means 36. With thedoor 60 removed the pushing operation takes place so that the coke ispushed from the oven 24 through the space which is enclosed by the cokeguide means 52, the hood means 44, and the cover 36 of the bucket means20, so that in this way the entire path of travel of the coke from theoven 24 to the interior of the bucket means 20 is closed off from theouter atmosphere.

The bottom of the bucket means 20 is closed by a wall 62 in the form ofa horizontally shiftable gate guided at its side edges in suitableguides formed in the lower ends of opposed side walls of the bucketmeans 20 at the bottom thereof, this closure gate 62 carryingprojections 64 which enable the gate 62 to be shifted to a positionopening the bottom of the bucket when the latter is on the top of adry-quenching bunker, as will be apparent from the description whichfollows.

FIG. 1 shows the inclined bed 66 for the rails 32 on which the car 28travels, this being the conventional inclined bed formed with a gutter68 in order to receive the conventional quenching liquid. This structureforms no part of the present invention but is shown only to emphasizethe fact that the structure of the invention can be used withconventional coke oven installations without altering the latter. It isto be understood that during the entire pushing operation the car 28 andthe bucket means 20 carried thereby remain stationary with the interiorof the bucket means receiving the entire contents of the oven 24. Inthis latter connection, if desired it is possible to reconstruct the bed66 so that it has a lower than conventional elevation, thus enabling abucket means 20 of greater depth to be provided in the event that thehorizontal cross section of the bucket means should be too large. Inthis way it is possible to provide a deeper bucket, while assuring thatthe bucket has an interior volume sufficiently greater to receive theentire contents of a coke oven while the bucket means remainsstationary.

Furthermore, it is to be understood that while in the above example thehood means 44 is shown as fixed to and extending from the coke guidemeans 52 with the hood means having a bottom open end registering withthe opening 38, it is equally possible to provide a hood means which isfixed to and extends upwardly from the cover means 56 and which has atits left end a vertical opening matching the opening at the right of thecoke guide means so as to register with this latter opening. With suchan embodiment also the entire path of movement of the coke from the ovento the bucket will be closed off. In addition, it is possible to providea hood means carried in part by the coke guide means and in part by thecover means 36 with any portion of the hood means being carried eitherby the coke guide means or by the cover means 36, the only requirementbeing that during pushing of coke into the bucket means the entire spaceof travel of the coke is closed off from the outer atmosphere to preventpollution of the atmosphere.

A suction means is provided for withdrawing from the space through whichthe coke travels from the oven 24 to the bucket means 20 gases, vapors,and particulate matter. A pilot means is provided in the suction meansto burn the combusti-bles of the withdrawn gasses and vapors, so thatthe matter withdrawn from the space closed 01T from the outer atmosphereby the coke guide means 52, hood means 44, and cover 36 can be cleanedbefore releasing any gasses to the outer atmosphere. In this way onlyclean gasses will be released to the outer atmosphere. This suctionmeans includes a pipe 70 fixed to the top wall 58 and communicatingthrough an open* ing thereof with the interior of the hood means 44. Thepipe 70 is telescopically joined with a pipe section 72 of substantiallyU-shaped configuration. This pipe section 72 has an elongated rightportion, as viewed in FIG. 1, sliding fluid-tightly Within the pipe 70.The horizontal portion of the pipe section 72 is supported on verticallymovable framework 74 guided for vertical movement by a stationaryframework 76 mounted at the top end of the coke guide means 52 at theregion where the latter is fixed with the hood means 44. The verticallymovable unit 74 vwhich carries the pipe section 72 is in turn carried bya movable piston of a iluid-pressure assembly 78 'which is carried bythe framework 76 and which communicates with any suitable source offluid under pressure so that through this assembly 78 it is possible toraise and lower the unit 74 and thus raise and lower the telescopic pipesection 72. This pipe section 72 communicates at its left end, as viewedin FIG. l, with a relatively short vertical pipe section 80 whichextends upwardly from a main 82 which extends along the top of theentire battery of coke ovens 24. Furthermore, it is to be understoodwhile in the above example the telescope U-shaped pipe section 72communicates with a vertical pipe section 80 extending upwards .form themain 82, it is equally possible to provide a straight configuration of atelescopic pipe section which communicates with a vertical pipe sectionmeans, extending downward from main 82 if this main is located abovepipe 70. In a manner which is described in greater detail below one endof the main 82 communicates with a scrubber means which cleans all ofthe matter sucked out of the space through which the coke travels fromthe oven 24 to the bucket means 20. In addition, the interior of themain 82 is maintained in a manner described below in such a conditionthat no explosions can occur therein. For this purpose part of thegas-discharged by the scrubber means at one end of the main 82 iscirculated back to the other end orf the main 82 so that stack gas iscontinuously circulated through the main 82, and in addition pilotburners are provided to maintain llames -within the pipe section 80 inorder to prevent explosion of gases in the main 82. The number of pilotburners equals the number of coke ovens of each battery, and these pilotburners are provided with spark plugs which are continuously energizedthrough an electronic ignition system. Combustion air and fuel gasessuch as methane or propane being fed to the pilot burners so that aconstant burning takes place in the interior of sections 80 and 82 so asto convert any carbon monoxide into carbon dioxide and so as to maintainthe interior of the main 82 at all times in a condition where it isimpossible for explosions to occur.

The several short pipe extensions 80, which are equal to the number ofovens and which are aligned therewith, are normally closed by way ofsuitable valves. When a coke oven is to be pushed, the coke guide meansis moved into alignment with the coke oven and then the uidpressureassembly 78 is actuated to place the section 72 in the' condition shownin FIG. 1 where it provides communication between the interior of thehood means 44 and the main 82 through a pipe section 80. Then the valvein the latter is opened so that the suction, provided by any suitableblower or the like directing gas through the main 82 to the scrubbermeans, Will be effective to suck gases, vapors and particulate matterout of the space through which the coke travels from the oven to thebucket means.

Referring to FIGS. 4-6, there is illustrated therein another embodimentof a bucket means of the invention and a hood means which cooperatestherewith. According to this embodiment, the bucket means 86 has acircular configuration in horizontal cross section. Thus, the bucketmeans is of a generally cylindrical configuration while having a taperedbottom region 88 having substantially the form of a truncated cone. The-bucket means 86 may be formed of the same materials as the bucket means20.

The bottom end of the bucket means 86 is closed by a closure bell 90 ofconical configuration xed at its top end to an elongated tube or rod 92extending upwardly through and upwardly beyond the interior of thebucket means 86. The rod 92 may be guided for longitudinal movement in atube 94 which is fixed in the interior of the bucket means 86 in anysuitable way as, for example, by radially extending horizontal rods 96welded at their inner ends to the outer guide tube 94 and at their outerends to the inner surface or shell of the bucket means 86. Cooling ofthe rod or hollow shaft 92 is accomplished by natural convection of theambient air in the tube 94.

In this case also it will `be noted that the car 28 is provided with asuitable framework 98 for supporting the bucket means 86. IHowever, inthis case the framework includes a lower bearing ring 100 which isfixedly carried by the car 28. An upper bearing ring 102 is located overand rotatable with respect to the bearing ring 100. Thus, any suitablethrust-bearing means capable of supporting the large weight of thebucket means 86 and the load carried thereby may be used at the locationof the bearing rings 100 and 102. The upper rotary bearing ring 102. isxed with a circular support 104 Iwhich is of a generally triangularconfiguration having an inner surface forming part of a cone and thusforming a seat for the lower tapered portion 88 of the bucket means l86.Thus, with this construction the bucket means 86 can be lifted .from theseat formed by the ring 104 and can be lowered onto this seat.

At its outer peripheral region, the ring 104 is provided with gear teeth106 forming a spur gear or bevel gear meshing with a driving pinion or abevel gear 108 driven through any suitable transmission from a motor110, this motor and the transmission therefrom to the driving gear 108being carried by the car 28` as shown at the right of FIG. 5. Thus, whenthemotor 110 is energized the entire bucket means 86 will rotate aboutits axis.

FIGS. 4 and 5 illustrate projections 112 fixedly carried by the bucketmeans 86 at its exterior and adapted to rest on standards fixed to thetop of a dry quenching bunker, so that in this way the bucket means canbe supported at the top of a dry-quenching bunker. The same type ofprojections 112 can be provided for the bucket means 20.

The top of the bucket means 86 is closed by a cover means 114 formedwith a central opening through which the guide tube 94 extends so thatthe cover means 114 can rotate .freely around while slidably engagingthe guide tube 94. At its outer periphery the cover means 114 has adownwardly directed tiange 116 which slidably surrounds a ring 118 fixedto the top of the bucket means 86 at the exterior thereof so that at theange 1116 and at the tube 94 it is possible for the bucket means 86 torotate with respect to the cover means 114 while closing off theinterior of the bucket means `86 from the outer atmosphere.

On one side of its central opening which receives the guide tube 94, thecover means 114 is formed with a swingable door 120 which is capable ofclosing and opening an elongated radially extending substantiallyrectangular port 122 formed through the cover means 114. The door 120can Ibe swung to its open position and lowered to its closed position inany suitable way such as by a hydraulic assembly as shown in connectionwith the door 40 of the bucket means 20.

The rod 92 extends above the guide tube 94 and carries at its top end aconnecting means 124 such as an eye or the like through which may extenda hook suspended from a cable of a crane, so that the entire bucketmeans 86 may be raised and lowered by connecting a crane to the top ofthe rod 92.

With the embodiment of FIGS. 4-6, the hood means 126 is substantiallyidentical with the hood means 44, the only difference being that thehood means 126 is of a less er horizontal dimension as seen fromright-to-left in FIG. 4 since the right end of the hood means 126 needonly extend up to the right end of the port 122 in the cover means 114,and this latter end of the port 122 is located almost at the center ofthe circular cover means 114. Therefore it is not necessary with thisembodiment that the hood means 126 extend all the way across the bucketmeans, which is in itself a substantial advantage because the load onthe coke guide means 52, tending to tilt it to the right in a clockwisedirection, as viewed in FIG. 4, is less with the embodiment of FIG. 4than with the embodiment of FIG. 1.

It is to be noted in this latter connection that with none of theembodiments of the invention is it essential to provide on the side ofthe tracks 32 opposite from the coke oven battery supports for structureextending from the coke guide. With some previously known structuresextensions connected to the coke guides are so heavy that it isessential to support these extensions by providing special supportingstructure on the side of the tracks 32 opposite from the coke ovenbattery.

It is to be noted that FIG. 4, as well as FIG. 1, schematicallyillustrates a pilot burner nozzle 128 and spark plug 130 for providingin the interior of pipe section 80 the pilot flames which preventexplosions as pointed out above.

With the embodiment of FIGS. 4-6, when an oven is to be pushed, thebucket means 86 is transported by the car 28 to a position where theport 122 of the cover means will be aligned with the opening at thebottom wall of the hood means 126. Then, during pushing the motor 110 isoperated so as to rotate the bucket means 86 with respect to its covermeans 114 and the car 28, so that in this way even though the coke dropsinto the bucket means at the left side of its axis, as viewed in FIG. 4,the coke will nevertheless be uniformly distributed throughout thebucket means, the speed of rotation of the bucket means being regulatedin such a way that a uniform distribution of the coke in the bucketmeans will be achieved. After the pushing operations have beencompleted, the coke guide means 52 and hood means 126 are moved away,the door 120 is closed, and the car 28 is moved by a locomotive to theregion of a dry-quenching bunker. In order to maintain the rod 92 at itselevation where the closure bell 90 maintains the bottom of the bucketmeans 86 closed, a suitable pin 128 extends through aligned openings ofthe guide sleeve 94 and a bore of the rod 92. After the hook of thecrane means has been attached to the top end 124 of the rod 92, the pin128 is removed and the entire bucket means is raised by the crane whilesuspended therefrom at the connection 124 provided at the top of the rod92. After the bucket means 86 has been situated at the top end of thedry-quenching bunker resting with the bucket projections 112 on suitablesupports on top of the bunker, and after the cover at the top of thebunker is removed, the crane lowers the rod 92 so that the closure bell90 is lowered thus permitting the contents of the bucket means 86 todrop into the bunker. Then the crane again raises the rod 92, the pin128 is replaced, and the bucket means is returned to its position seatedon the ring 104 so that it can then be returned with the car 28 to thenext oven which is to be pushed.

It is to be noted that instead of providing a slidable engagementbetween the flange 116 and the ring 118, the ange 116 can xedly carry anumber of pins which extend radially in from the flange 116 and whichsupport a plurality of rollers at the inside of the ange 116 while thering 118 can have an L-shaped cross section according to which it has afree upper edge on which the rollers carried by the ring 116 can rest,so that in this way the fraction between the rotary bunker means 86 andthe cover means 114 can be reduced.

FIGS. 7-9 illustrate a further embodiment of a bucket means of theinvention. Except for the structure of the bucket means and thestructure of the car 28 which supports the bucket means, the embodimentof FIGS. 7-9 is identical with that of FIGS. 1-3. Thus, referring toFIGS. 749, it will be seen that the bucket means 132 is of an elongatedrectangular configuration in a horizontal cross section while alsohaving a tapered bottom portion in the form of a truncated pyramid. Inthis case also the bottom end of the bucket means may be closed by awall in the form of a gate which is slidable with respect t the rest ofthe bucket means, although a split bottom in the form of a pair of lowercall portions hingedly connected to the side walls of the bucket meansand swung between open and closed positions through suitable cylinder orlever assemblies or the like, can be used with the embodiment of FIGS.7-9 as Well as with the embodiment of FIGS. l1-3.

The bucket means 132 carries at its exterior a framework 134 whichserves to guide a flexible curtain assembly 136 formed by plates made ofa suitable alloy and hinged one to the next so thta the series of plateswhich form the curtain 136 will be -guided around end rollers 138 andcan be unwound from and rewound on supply and take-up rollers 140. It isalso possible to utilize an alloyed steel strip as a exible curtainmeans 136. Depending upon the direction of movement of the closurecurtain 136 which forms the cover means of this embodiment, a givenroller 140 will serve at one time as a supply roll and at another timeas a take-up roll. The closure or cover means 136 carries a rectangularfram 142 (FIG. 9) which deiines an opening through which coke isdelivered to the interior of the bucket means 132. During travel of thebucket means to and from the oven which is pushed, the opening definedby the rectangular frame 142 is closed by a suitable plate which iscarried by the frame 132, this frame having, for example, an innertapered surface portion receiving a cover plate which tapers in adownward direction so that it rests on the frame 142 while covering theopening deiined thereby. When coke is to be delivered to the bucketmeans 132, this plate is removed from the frame 142 and the openingdefined thereby is aligned with the bottom end of the hood means 44.During pushing of the coke the locomotive connected to the car 28 movesthe latter along the track 32. At this time the bottom end of the hoodmeans 44 directly engages the frame 142 so that the cover means 136remains stationary with respect to the hood means 44 during pushingoperations. The travel of the car 28 and bucket means therewith isindicated by the double-headed arrow k144 in FIG. 8. The maximum extentof travel is indicated by the doubleheaded arrow 146 in FIG. 9. Thus,during pushing operations the car 28 and the bucket means 132 therewithare moved in such a way that the coke will be uniformly distributed inthe interior of the bucket means, the exible cover means 136 un- Windingfrom one of the rollers 140 and being taken up on the other of therollers during one of the pushing operations. The direction of movementof the cover means is reversed during the next pushing operation whencoke is delivered to the bucket means.

After the pushing operations are completed the coke guide means 52 andthe hood means 44 are moved away while the closure plate which closesthe opening delined by frame 142 is placed on the latter, and then thebucket means can be transported to a dry-quenching bunker where it israised to the top of the bunker so that the contents of the bucket meanscan be delivered to the interior of the bunker.

Referring to FIG. 10, there is schematically illustrated therein a cokeoven battery with the main 82 situated thereover. FIG. l() shows theseveral short pipe sections 80 respectively aligned with the severalcoke ovens 24 and extending upwardly from the main 82. These severalpipe sections 80 are provided with the valves 152 as schematicallyillustrated, so that that valve 152 which is carried by the pipe section80 which is aligned with the oven 24 which is to be pushed is opened sothat gases can then enter through the opened pipe section 80 into themain 82. Shown at the right end of the main 82 is a part of the suctionmeans formed by the blower 154 which delivers the gases, vapors, andparticulate matter sucked from the space through which coke travels to ascrubber means 156 in which cleaning operations take place in a knownway, and particulate matter separated from the gaseous matter can beremoved from time to time through the outlet 158. The cleaned gasdischarges from the scrubber means 156 through an outlet 160 which isconnected to a return conduit 162 through which the stack gas returns tothe main 82 so that in this way -gas is continuously circulated throughthe main 82. Part of the gases which discharge from the scrubber means156 through the outlet 160 may be delivered to the outer atmospherethrough the flue 164. In order to control the division between the gaswhich is recirculated through the conduit 162 and the part discharged tothe outer atmosphere through the duct or flue 164, an adjustablebutterfly valve or damper plate 166 is provided, this plate beingswingable, as schematically indicated in FIG. 10, the selected angularpositions which will divide the discharging gas so that a selectedportion thereof will be recirculated and the remainder thereof will bedischarged to the outer atmosphere.

FIG. 11 shows fa pair of the pipe sections 80 on the main 82 with thepilot burner nozzles 128 extending into the main 82 at the locationswhere the pipe sections 80 are located, these burners being providedwith methane or propane gas and combustion air, as pointed out above,and being operatively connected with spark plugs which are continuouslyenergized through an electronic ignition system so as to maintain pilotllames constantly burning within the pipe sections 80.

Referring nowto IFIG. l2, there is schematically illustrated thereinanother embodiment of the invention according to which the car 28 isreplaced by a car 170 capable of riding on the same tracks 32 and beingmoved by way of a locomotive as pointed out above. This car 170 maycarry any of the above-described bucket means of the invention, a bucketmeans is provided withr a cover means 174 shown in FIG. 12 communicatingwith a hood means 176 which may be either the hood means 44 or the hoodmeans 126. Thus, in this latter event the bucket means 172 will berotated as described above in connection with FIGS. 4-6, while if thebucket means 172 remains stationary the structure of FIGS. 1-3 may beused and if the bucket means is moved longitudinally with respect to thecover means, the embodiment of FIGS. 7-9 may be used.

In any event, the cover means 174 of either of these embodiments isprovided with a duct 178 which through a telescopic tubular connection180 may be placed in communication with a blower 182 which sucks thegases, vapors, and particulate matter directly from the space beneaththe cover means 174 and delivers this matter to a scrubber means 1184carried by the car 170. This scrubber means 184 will clean the withdrawnmatter and will discharge only clean gases to the outer atmospherethrough the outlet 186. From time to time collected matter can bewithdrawn through the outlet 188. Thus, with the embodiment of FIG. 12the hood means 176 will not communicate with any suction means throughwhich the withdrawn matter is delivered to a structure such as the main82. The main 82 and all of the parts associated therewith are omitted.The hood means 176 need not have any connection to the suction means andmay be carried by the coke guide means so as to be aligned with theopening of the cover means 174 in the manner described above. With thisembodiment all of the suction takes place from the space directlybeneath the cover means 174 and the entire cleaning structure is carrieddirectly by the car 170 itself. After pushing operations are completed,the telescopic tube assembly 180 is disconnected from the blower 182 andis closed b'y a suitable closure plate, and of course the openingthrough which the hood means 176 communicates through the cover means174 with the interior of the bucket means 172 is closed, and then thebucket means can be transported in the manner described above to adry-quenching bunker.

Referring to FIG. 13, in the schematically illustrated coke plant thereare three coke oven batteries 150. The tracks 32 extend along the cokeoven batteries from the latter to an installation 190 where there arethree dryquenching bunkers 192. Aligned with the several bunkers 192arefthree cranes 194 having at their top ends beams extending over thebunkers and forwardly beyond the same to locations over the tracks 32 sothat through suitable winches and the like, which may be electricallyoperated, cables with hooks and the like thereon can be lowered andraised in order to raise and lower the bucket means of the inventionwith respect to the car 28. As is schematically shown in FIG. 13, thecar carries two bucket means 196 which may be any of the bucket meansreferred to above.

As is shown in FIG. 14, a locomotive 198 may be operatively connectedwith the car 28 to transport the latter, and FIG. 14 schematicallyillustrates how one crane means 194 lowers an empty bucket 196a onto thecar 28 which is shown carrying a full bucket 196b. This particular typeof arrangement is provided for safety purposes so that there is never atime when it is required to travel beneath a bucket carried by a cranemeans. A bucket which has been placed on top of a dry-quenching bunkercan be left there while the car 28 returns to have the second bucketlled with coke, and then when this second bucket is to be delivered to abunker 192, the empty bucket is returned to the car 28 so that the car28 is capable of moving between the batteries and the bunkers in thetime period required for sequential pushing of the ovens.

FIG. 15 schematically illustrates the upper part of one of thedry-quenching bunkers 192. This dry-quenching bunker 192 carries at itstop end supports 200 on which the projections 112 rest so that thebucket means 202 can fbe supported in this way at the top of thedry-quenching bunker 192. As was pointed out above these projections 112are mounted on any of the bucket means of the invention, and the bucketmeans 202 may be any of the bucket means of the invention. However, inthe illustrated example the bucket means 202 is provided with a splitbottom closure means 204 made up of a pair of closure walls 204a and204b hinged at their outer edges to the lower end of the bunker meansand capable of being swung between the illustrated closed position andopen positions by mechanical, electro-mechanical, pneumatic or thehydraulic drives 206 which are schematically illustrated.

The top end of the bunker 192 has its opening closed by a water-sealedclosure 208-. After this closure is removed in a known way, the drives206 are actuated to swing the closure plates 204a and 204b downwardlyand thus empty the contents of the bucket means 202 into the bunker 192.After the bucket means has been emptied of its contents the bottom endthereof is again closed and the crane means loperates to return theempty bucket means to the car 28, in the manner pointed out above.

It is to be noted in connection with FIG. 15 that the standards 200which support the bucket means also serve to support a cylindrical lwall210 which at its bottom end is xed to the top of the bunker 192 and atits top end extends all the Way up to the lower surface of the bucketmeans 202, so that in this way the entire space through which the cokefalls from the |bucket means into the bunker is closed off from theouter atmosphere to prevent release of dust to the outer atmosphere.

FIG. 16 shows a .bunker 192 which may be the same bunker as that shownin FIG. 15. However the bunker is illustrated in FIG. 16 in a planetaken at right angles to the plane of FIG. 15. Thus, FIG. 16 shows thecover carriage 211 which has wheels 214 riding on the tracks 216supported at the top of each bunker 192 and situated within theenclosure 210. The cover 208 is of course located between the tracksv2.16, as is apparent from FIG. 15. The cover carriage 211 is driven byany suitable motor which through a suitable transmission drives one ormore of the wheels 214 so that the carriage will travel along the rails216. The same motor is used to rotate pinions 218 rotatably carried bythe carriage and meshing with racks 220 which are xed to and extendvertically from a vertically movable part 222 of the carriage 211. Thispart carries at its lower surface hooks or the like which enter intoeyes carried by the cover 208 so that when the member 222 is elevatedthe cover 208 will be raised for opening the bunker 192. At the sametime, the upwardly moving part 222 has a grooved portion 224 thereofwhich moves upwardly and receives in its interior the projections 64 xedto the closure gate at the bottom of the bunker means such as the bunkermeans 20. In this way a driving connection is established between thecarriage 211 and the gate at the bottom of the bunker means. With thisconstruction when the cover 208 is displaced to the right, for example,as viewed in FIG. 16, the gate 62 will also be displaced to the right toa position opening the bucket means simultaneously with the opening ofthe bunker means, so that the contents of the bucket will drop into thebunker. Then when the bunker is closed the bucket is simultaneouslyclosed through the reverse of these operations.

As is shown in FIG. 17, the cover 208 of the bunker means 192 can beremoved in the same way, but with this embodiment the closure bell ofthe bunker means 86 is lowered by operation of the crane means to lowerthe rod 92, and in this way the contents of the bucket means 86 willdrop into the bunker means 192.

Referring to FIG. 18, there is schematically illustrated therein anotherembodiment of a bucket means 232 of the present invention. This bucketmeans 232 can receive coke from an oven in any of the ways describedabove. It also rests on a suitable framework 234 carried by a car 28. Inthis case, however, the car 28 is provided with a vibrator means 236capable of vibrating the bunker means 232 while it is loaded with cokedischarged from a coke oven so as to achieve in this way also a betterdistribution 13 of the coke in the bucket means 232. Such a vibratormeans 236 may be used with any of the embodiments described above.

With the embodiment of FIG. 18, however the bucket means 232 has a lowerend 238 of a channel-shaped configuration provided with a concave uppersurface and this lower end 238 extends from one end to the other ofbucket 232. Above the lower end region 238 the bucket 232 is provided inits interior with a lower wall 240 which is perforated as by beingformed with a large number of openings which may have a diameter on theorder of l1/2 inch, for example. 'This wall 240 is strong enough tosupport the entire load of coke in the bucket 232 so that the coke restsin the bucket on the perforated wall 240 over the bottom wall 238. Withthis construction during delivery of coke to the bucket means 232, cokebreeze will fall through the apertures of the wall 240 to be receivedbetween the wall 240 and the bottom 238 in the manner shownschematically in FIG. 18. In this way the extent to which screeningoperations must be carried out can be reduced and the quality of thecoke delivered to the coke wharf is improved.

When a bucket means such as the bucket means 232 is delivered to abunker such as the bunker 242l shown schematically in FIG. 19, the cranelifts the bucket means 232 from the car 28 and places it on a supportingcarriage 244 which travels onto a tiltable framework 246 carried by thesupporting structure at the region of the top of the bunker 242. Thissupport 246 is swingable about a pivot 248 and can be swung by way of ahydraulic assembly 250.

In addition it is to be noted that with this embodiment the bucket 232is provided with a pair of closure doors 252 and 254 at its right end,as viewed in FIG. 19. These doors are connected at their side edges to alink 256 which in turn is connected pivotally with a link 258 driven bya hydraulic assembly 260 mounted on the side of the bucket 232. Thishydraulic assembly maintains the doors 252 and 254 closed. The door 252is located just above the apertured wall 240 While the door 254communicates with the space below the Wall 240.

With this arrangement after the crane means raises the bucket means 232up to the carriage 244 and rests the bucket means thereon, carriage 244rolls with support 246 and the hydraulic drive 250 can be actuated totilt the carriage support 246 in a clockwise direction so that thebucket 232 will assume the inclined position, which may be aninclination of 45, as shown schematically in FIG. 19. Then the drive 260is actuated to simultaneously open both the doors 252 and 254. Thearrangement is such that in the inclined position of the bucket 232, itwill be prevented from moving down by engagement of the carriage 244with a stop 262. At this time the opening of the doors 252 and 254 bythe drive 260 will release the coke above the wall 240 so that it fallsinto the bunker means 242 while at the same time the breeze will fallthrough the open door 252 into the upper open end 264 of a duct 266which extends downwardly alongside the bunker 242 so that the breeze canbe separately delivered to a location different from the interior of thebunker means 242. With this embodiment also an outer shielding tubularassembly 268 can be provided, as shown schematically in FIG. 19 to closeolf the space through which the coke and breeze fall so as to furtherreduce pollution of the outer atmosphere.

Thus, it will be seen that with the structure of the invention asdescribed above it is possible to push the entire contents of a cokeoven into a bucket means of the invention without polluting theatmosphere, and then the bucket means can 'have its contents transferredto a dry-quenching bunker. All of the operations required can be carriedout in a highly efcient manner involving less costs than has heretoforebeen the case while at the same time avoiding pollution of the outeratmosphere. In addition it will be noted that the operations involvedwith the present invention are much safer than conventional operationsand great economies are achieved by reason of the fact that considerableenergy in the hot coke can be recaptured.

It is understood and to be noted that delievery of the coke from bucketmeans 232 to the bunker means 242 by tilting the bucket and separatingcoke and coke breeze in the above described manner could be arranged atplant yard level instead of on the top of the dry quenching bunker byutilizing another bucket attached to a hoist ending at the chargingopening of bunker means 242.

In this configuration, the tiltable framework means 246 is located inplant yard level, furthermore coke bucket 232 and car means 28 arefitted together to one unit and the hoist bucket is located adjacent tomeans 246 in a pit below yard level when in its receiving position.

Car and coke bucket means 232 will be driven by the existing locomotiveonto the tiltable framework means 246, then tilted to the inclinedposition as described before by drive means 250 and at the same timeheld in position on the inclined tilting framework by stop means 262.When opening the doors means 252 and 254 by drive means 260 the cokeabove wall means 240 will fall into the hoist bucket to be delivered tobunker means 242 and the breeze below wall means 240 will fall into theopen upper end means 264 of a duct means 266 which extends downwardalong the pit wall to a breeze storage hopper.

A hood connected to dust collection equipment, as well as a tubularshielding means 268 around the hoist, is provided to prevent pollutionof the outer atmosphere during the coke transfer.

What is claimed is:

1. In an apparatus for smokeless pushing and transportation of hot coke,bucket means having an interior volume sufficient great to receive theentire contents of a coke oven, said bucket means having a side wallsurrounding the interior of said bucket means and terminating in a topedge situated in a horizontal plane and dening an open top end throughwhich coke pushed from a coke oven enters said bucket means, coke carmeans carrying said bucket means, cover means carried by said top edgeof said side wall and extending substantially horizontally across saidopen top end and situated substantially at said horizontal plane forpermanently covering said top end of said bucket means and remainingconnected thereto during operation thereof, said cover means beingformed with an opening passing therethrough and carrying a door whichhas a closed position closing the latter opening and which isdisplaceable upwardly away from said opening for giving access to theinterior of said bucket means through the latter opening, coke guidemeans situated next to a coke oven for guiding coke which is pushedtherefrom, hood means carried by said coke guide means, extendingbetween said coke guide means and said cover means and communicating,when said door is displaced upwardly away from said opening, throughsaid opening of said cover means with the interior of said bucket meansand through said coke guide means with an oven from which coke is to bepushed, said hood means, coke guide means, and cover means closing offfrom the outer atmosphere a space through which the coke travels whenpushed from a coke oven into said bucket means, suction meanscommunicating with the latter space for withdrawing gases, vapors, andparticulate matter which otherwise would be released to the outeratmosphere, scrubber means communicating with said suction means forreceiving from the latter the matter withdrawn from said space and forcleaning said matter before releasing any gases to the outer atmosphere,whereby the latter gases are clean and pollution of the atmosphere isavoided, crane means and bunker means situated at a location to whichsaid bucket means is carried by said coke car means with coke receivedfrom a coke oven and with said door closing said opening of said covermeans so that the latter maintains the coke in said bucket means closedott from the outer atmosphere during travel with said coke car means tosaid crane means and bunker means, said crane means coacting with saidbucket means for raising the latter to the top of said bunker means, anddischarge means carried by said bucket means at an elevation thereoflower than said cover means for discharging the contents of said bucketmeans into said bunker means when said crane means has raised saidbucket means to the top of said bunker means, and wherein said bucketmeans is operatively connected to said car means and said cover meansfor rotation with respect to said cover means and car means, androtating means carried by said car means and operatively connected withsaid bucket means for rotating the latter with respect to said car meansand cover means during pushing of coke out of an oven through said cokeguide means and hood means into said bucket means, for distributing thecoke evenly in said bucket means.

2. The combination of claim 1 and wherein a closure bell means islocated at the bottom end of said bucket means for releasably closingsaid bucket means at said bottom end thereof, and elongated rod meansoperatively connected to said bell means and extending therefromupwardly through the interior of said bucket means along a central axisthereof and through said cover means to the exterior of said bucketmeans over the top of said cover means, said rod means having at its topend a connecting means for connecting said rod means to a crane so thatthrough said crane said bucket means may be raised when supported onsaid rod means and bell means to the top of a bunker to rest thereonwith said crane then lowering said rod means and bell means forreleasing coke from the interior of said bucket means to fall into saidbunker.

3. The combination of claim 1 and wherein a vibrator means isoperatively connected with said bucket means for vibrating the latter.

4. The combination of claim 1 and wherein said bucket means carries inits interior adjacent but spaced from the bottom of said bucket means atransverse wall means formed with aperture through which breeze can fallinto the space beneath said transverse wall means, and a pair of saiddischarge means carried by said bucket means for discharging the breezeand the coke above said wall means separately from said bucket means.

5. The combination of claim 4 and including means adjacent the top ofsaid bunker for tilting said bucket means to a position for dischargingonly the coke above Said wall means into said bunker means, and guidemeans located adjacent said bunker means for receiving the breeze whichdischarges from said bucket means simultaneously with discharge of cokeinto said bunker means and for guiding the breeze to a location where itwill be used.

6. The combination of claim 1 and wherein said bucket means carries atits bottom said discharge means for discharging coke out of said bucketmeans through the bottom thereof.

7. The combination of claim 6 and including closure means located at thetop of said bunker means for closing the space between said bucket meansand bunker means oi from the outer atmosphere, and means at the top of4said bunker means for opening the top of said bunker means whilesimultaneously opening the bottom of said bucket means to release cokeout of the latter into said bucket means and for then, when said bucketmeans is empty, closing the bottom of said bucket means andsimultaneously closing the top of said bunker means.

8. The combination of claim 1 and wherein said scrubber means is carriedby said car means.

9. The combination of claim 1 and wherein an elongated main extendslongitudinally along a coke battery and is connected at one end to saidscrubber means, telescoping pipe means operatively connected betweensaid hood means and main for providing communication between theinterior of said hood means and said main so that the gas, vapor, andparticulate matter will be drawn into said main and from the latterdelivered to said scrubber means, and conduit means communicating withsaid main for continuously circulating therethrough a gas which will notexplode.

10. The combination of claim 9 and wherein a plurality of pilot burnermeans are distributed along said main for continuously burning amestherein to prevent explosion from taking place.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,547,782 12/ 1970 Schon 202-2272,802,778 8/ 1957 Koppers et al. 202-228 3,647,636 3/ 1972 Helm 202-2633,580,813 5/1971 Hinchliffe 201-39 1,457,713 l6/ 1923 Moetteli 202-2283,697,381 10/ 1972 Kemmetmueller 202--263 2,956,833 10/1960 Morin 294-69R 3,647,053 3/1972 Palumbo 201-40 FOREIGN PATENTS 892,832 3/ 1962 GreatBritain 201-39 381,408 9/ 1923 Germany 202-230 NORMAN YUDKOFF, PrimaryExaminer D. EDWARDS, Assistant Examiner U.S. Cl. X.R.

